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Morocco earthquake: Canadian in Marrakech describes scenes of destruction

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Living close to one of Canada’s most earthquake-prone regions, Nelson, B.C. resident Fiona Richards has experienced her share of tremors.

But none prepared her for the magnitude 6.8 quake that struck Morocco late Friday night while she was staying in Marrakech’s Medina quarter during a week-long vacation in the North African country.

“This one was terrifying,” she told CTVNews.ca in an interview over WhatsApp on Saturday. “It was the scariest thing I think any of us have ever been in.”

Outside, in the busy historic district, she said, “the screaming started as soon as the trembling started.”

Richards is visiting Morocco with her husband and two friends from Vancouver. The four were relaxing inside their rented home in the middle of the city’s old quarter when the largest quake to hit Morocco in 120 years struck.

“It was so strong, it was so powerful. It felt like the floor was moving under your feet and you could feel the vibrations just all through your body. And everything was moving and rumbling,” she said. Richards said the shaking went on for what felt like 30 to 40 seconds.

“Occasionally we would look up because I think we just we were expecting the walls to come down. And we’ve got cracks in the walls today, but we feel safe.”

Others weren’t so lucky. Officials in Morocco said the quake – which toppled buildings and walls from villages in the country’s Atlas Mountains to the ancient city of Marrakech – has killed at least 1,305 people and injured 1,832. Deaths are concentrated mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicentre, Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday morning, and the death toll is expected to climb as rescue and recovery efforts in heavily damaged areas continue.

A photo by Canadian Fiona Richards shows the damage in Marrakech’s Medina quarter following a deadly earthquake in Morocco on Friday night. (Fiona Richards photo)

Among the injured, the ministry wrote, 721 were in critical condition.

Across Marrakech, including in the crowded Medina, where Richards is staying, the force of the quake drove families into the streets, fearful their homes would collapse. Many, like the family next door to Richards’ rental home, spent Friday night outside.

“They stayed outside all night long and crying and screaming,” she said. “We went outside and we invited them in because our place was fine and tried to console them. This morning they’re still out there. They were too scared to go back into the building.”

Surveying the damage outside several hours after the quake, Richards said some streets were littered with rubble from collapsed buildings and smashed clay from pottery stands, while on others, people went about their business as usual among buildings that looked untouched by the damage.

Richards said she doesn’t know how the natural disaster will affect the remainder of her travel plans, but that she’s grateful her group still has access to shelter, electricity and running water.

“We have some plans, but I don’t know if those plans will still be valid,” she said.

“It’s a trip to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Marrakech, and now it’s taken on a different meaning.”

REACTION IN CANADA

In a tweet on Saturday morning, Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada’s thoughts are with all of those affected by the disaster and urged Canadians in Morocco to register with Global Affairs Canada.

In a statement Satuday evening, Global Affairs Canada said it has been contact with 30 Canadian citizens in Morocco and is not aware of any Canadians killed or injured in the quake. There are 4,763 Canadians listed in the Registration of Canadians Abroad lliving in Morocco.

“Canadian consular officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens if needed,” Global Affairs said.

As for Canadians with direct ties to Morocco, about 100,000 residents of Canada claimed Moroccan heritage in the 2021 census.

In Quebec, where more than 81,000 residents identified as Moroccan as of 2021, local and provincial leaders used social media to show solidarity with the Moroccan community.

“My thoughts are with the Moroccan people,” Premier Francois Legault wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Marrakech, Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Essaouira, all magnificent cities that I have visited.”

“The images coming in from Morocco, after the country was hit by an earthquake, are heartbreaking,” Mayor Valerie Plante tweeted on Friday night. “Tonight, an entire community has been shaken. My thoughts are with Montrealers of Moroccan origin. Our hearts go out to you.”

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Abdelhaq Sari, a Moroccan Montreal city councillor, verified that members of his family in the capital city of Rabat are safe, but said other members of the community have struggled to get information from rural areas of the country.

“What I know about the tragedy is in the urban places … we can have communication, we can have like information,” he told The Canadian Press. “However when we go to the rural places it’s very hard.”

Several aid organizations have launched emergency response funds to help those affected by the quake, including Oxfam Canada, while others say they are monitoring the situation in Morocco.

– With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press 

 

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Bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000 as post-election rally rolls on

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NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin topped $98,000 for the first time Thursday, extending a streak of record after record highs since the U.S. presidential election. The cryptocurrency has rocketed more than 40% in just two weeks.

Now, bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000, just two years after dropping below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The recent, dramatic rally arrives as industry players expect the incoming Trump administration to bring a more “crypto-friendly” approach toward regulating the digital currency.

Bitcoin traded as high as $98,349 early Thursday, according to CoinDesk, and was slightly below that level at 1:25 p.m. ET.

As with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is impossible to know. And while some are bullish, other experts continue to warn of investment risks.

Here’s what you need to know.

Back up. What is cryptocurrency again?

Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now. But, chances are, you’ve heard about it more and more over the last few years.

In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. This kind of currency is designed to work through an online network without a central authority — meaning it’s typically not backed by any government or banking institution — and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain.

Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, tether and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years. Some investors see cryptocurrency as a “digital alternative” to traditional money — but it can be very volatile, with its price reliant on larger market conditions.

Why is bitcoin soaring?

A lot of the recent action has to do with the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Crypto industry players have welcomed Trump’s victory, in hopes that he would be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for — which, generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape.

Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, recently pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

How of this will actually pan out — and whether or not Trump will successfully act quickly on these promises — has yet to be seen.

“This is not necessarily a short-term story, it’s likely a much longer-term story,” Citi macro strategist David Glass told The Associated Press last week. “And there is the question of how quickly can U.S. crypto policy make a serious impact on (wider adoption).”

Adam Morgan McCarthy, a research analyst at Kaiko, thinks the industry is craving “just some sort of clarity.” Much of the approach to regulating crypto in the past has been “enforcement based,” he notes, which has been helpful in weeding out some bad actors — but legislation might fill in other key gaps.

Gary Gensler, who as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Joe Biden has led a U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry, penalized a number of crypto companies for violating securities laws. Gensler announced Thursday that he would step down as SEC chair on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

Despite crypto’s recent excitement around Trump, McCarthy said that 2024 has already been a “hugely consequential year for regulation in the U.S.” — pointing to January’s approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, for example, which mark a new way to invest in the asset.

Spot ETFs have been the dominant driver of bitcoin for some time now — but, like much of the crypto’s recent momentum, saw record inflows postelection. According to Kaiko, bitcoin ETFs recorded $6 billion in trade volume for the week of the election alone.

In April, bitcoin also saw its fourth “halving” — a preprogrammed event that impacts production by cutting the reward for mining, or the creation of new bitcoin, in half. In theory, if demand remains strong, some analysts say this “supply shock” can also help propel the price long term. Others note it may be too early to tell.

What are the risks?

History shows you can lose money in crypto as quickly as you’ve made it. Long-term price behavior relies on larger market conditions. Trading continues at all hours, every day.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, bitcoin stood at just over $5,000. Its price climbed to nearly $69,000 by November 2021, during high demand for technology assets, but later crashed during an aggressive series of Federal Reserve rate hikes. And in late 2022 collapse of FTX significantly undermined confidence in crypto overall, with bitcoin falling below $17,000.

Investors began returning in large numbers as inflation started to cool — and gains skyrocketed on the anticipation and then early success of spot ETFs. But experts still stress caution, especially for small-pocketed investors. And lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration could mean less guardrails.

While its been a big month for crypto — and particularly bitcoin, which McCarthy notes has set record highs for ten of the last 21 days — there’s always risk for “correction,” or seeing prices fluctuate back down some. Some assets may also have more restrictions than others.

“I would say, keep it simple. And don’t take on more risk than you can afford to,” McCarthy said — adding that there isn’t a “magic eight ball” to know for certain what comes next.

What about the climate impact?

Assets like bitcoin are produced through a process called “mining,” which consumes a lot of energy. Operations relying on pollutive sources have drawn particular concern over the years.

Recent research published by the United Nations University and Earth’s Future journal found that the carbon footprint of 2020-2021 bitcoin mining across 76 nations was equivalent to the emissions from burning 84 billion pounds of coal or running 190 natural gas-fired power plants. Coal satisfied the bulk of bitcoin’s electricity demands (45%), followed by natural gas (21%) and hydropower (16%).

Environmental impacts of bitcoin mining boil largely down to the energy source used. Industry analysts have maintained that clean energy has increased in use in recent years, coinciding with rising calls for climate protections



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Transgender community gathers in remembrance, opposition to Alberta legislation |

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Members of Edmonton’s transgender community and their loved ones gathered to mark the international Transgender Day of Remembrance where they held candles and mourned for transgender people who have recently died from violence or suicide. In Alberta, the gathering was also about opposing proposed legislation in the province. (Nov. 21, 2024)



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Canadian basketball player Chad Posthumus dead at 33 after brain aneurysm

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WINNIPEG – Canadian basketball player Chad Posthumus, a founding member of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, died Wednesday. He was 33.

The CEBL’s Winnipeg Sea Bears said Thursday that Posthumus, the team’s captain, suffered a brain aneurysm during a training session in Winnipeg on Nov. 9.

He then battled complications from a corrective surgery that left him in critical condition in the intensive care unit and did not recover.

Posthumus, a Winnipeg native, played for the CEBL’s Saskatchewan Rattlers, Ottawa BlackJacks, Edmonton Stingers and Brampton Honey Badgers before joining his hometown team.

He also played for teams in Argentina and Japan.

Internationally, the six-foot-11 Posthumus played for the 3×3 national team, representing Canada at the 3×3 AmeriCup in 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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